Undertow: Chapter 1
by Blazer
Summary: Just a tangent off the manga.


Okay, been off for a while for sick leave.Naturally, instead of trying to finish the other stories, another one is now in the process of being written.Nothing like staying in bed reading comics and watching cartoons…Sickness is a mixed blessing, I suppose.

I'm writing this story based loosely more on the manga rather than the cartoon.One, because the characters seem older and more like real people; two, there's no Togepi so I don't have to write in an annoying egg dialogue; and three, there's no Tracey to write in (less characters, the better for me).There aren't too many things that are different from the cartoon so hopefully this won't be too hard to follow.This is after Ash has won the Orange Island League competition.Or was it the Fruit Cup…Something like that.Oh, I'll really try to finish the others.Scout's honor!Until then, enjoy.

# Undertow: Chapter 1

In the waiting area of the seaport in Vermillion City a boy paced impatiently in circles unaware of a redheaded girl sneaking up on him.Within seconds, the girl was on him, resulting in a cry of surprise from the boy.

"Misty!" he shouted, upon recognizing the girl.

"So Ash, what're you doing here?" Misty questioned, "I thought you were going back to Pallet?"

"Well…" Ash started, "I met up with Gary and we ARE going to Pallet…Eventually…"

"You two are traveling together now?" Misty teased, pulling Ash into a headlock, "You and Gary doing some male bonding?"

"Don't read anything into it," Ash mumbled as the girl mussed his hair before letting him go.

"So where you two headed?"

"Gary wanted to get some evolution stones so we're gonna go to Stone Town on Dream Island and then we're off to Pewter to meet up with Brock."

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Misty asked, grabbing Ash's hand, "Come on, let's get going!"

"Misty!" Ash protested as he was dragged several steps towards the docked ship, "Wait, you're coming too?"

"Mmhmm," Misty replied, smiling wide, "You're gonna buy me a water stone for my Shellder."

"I…I am…?"

"That's right, Mr. Orange Island League winner, you're gonna get me that stone as a down payment for my bike."

"Oh no," Ash groaned, slumping into a chair in the lobby of the port, "Fine, fine, but we have to wait for Gary to bring back our Pokemon from the center."

"So…What do we do until then?" Misty inquired, taking a seat next to Ash.

"Beats me."

"I know," Misty, stated with a grin, "How about we play a game?"

* * * * * *

The relative peace and silence of the ocean was disturbed by the commotion from a ship that was gliding gracefully across the waves.Not surprisingly, it wasn't the ship itself that caused the disturbance but rather two people, more specifically a boy and a girl arguing over some mute point in one of the rooms of the ship.A third person was present in the room but seemed to not even notice the other two's incessant bickering.

"No Misty, I refuse," Ash shouted, crossing his arms across his chest, "I told you I'm not playing!"

"Come on, Ash," Misty coaxed, wrapping an arm around his neck from behind, "If you can name all of Slowbro's attacks, I'll buy dinner."

"I said 'no'!I'll go broke if I keep playing your games!"

"Why don't you two get a room or something?" Gary, who sat across from the two, suggested as he hefted a pokeball in his hand.

"What?!" Ash and Misty cried in unison, both fixating an icy glare on Gary.

"Uh…Nevermind," Gary replied meekly as he began polishing Arcanine's pokeball.

"Jerk," Misty muttered under her breath, sitting back down in her hair.She stared at the ocean through the window of the speeding ship, at how the waves seemed to appear and break in one fluid motion."I wonder if Mikey's still there," she mused, offhandedly.

"Mikey?" Ash questioned.

"Yeah, you remember Mikey, don't you?"

"I remember," Ash acknowledged, frowning slightly.

"Who's Mikey?" Gary asked, still polishing his pokeball.

"A pledge I helped get into the Knights of the E-stone," Ash stated matter-of-factly.

"I think he had a crush on me," Misty said dreamily.

"Oh, sounds like competition, eh?" Gary commented, nudging Ash with his elbow.This resulted in Ash blushing hotly before he launched himself at Gary.After a flurry of punches, kicks, headlocks, and other things had passed, the two lay sprawled on the floor of the ship, gasping for breath.

"Boys are so weird," Misty declared, returning her gaze to the window, partly from irritation and partly to hide her own blush.The island was no more than a dot on the horizon foretelling a long trip ahead.Misty looked over her shoulder at the two boys, that had begun to start fighting again, and sighed.The trip was going to be a lot longer than she imagined.


End file.
